Peter Eriksson, former UK Paralympics head coach: ‘Classification should be independent of the IPC and the sport to take the pressure off the IPC’.
Photograph: Matthew Lewis/Getty Images for Aviva

The UK’s former head Paralympics coach has called for classification of athletes to be removed from the International Paralympics Committee (IPC) and handed over to an independent body similar to the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada).

Peter Eriksson spoke as athletes and coaches revealed to the Guardian ways that athletes could manipulate classification procedures in order to gain unfair advantage.

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All British athletes must also be classified by the IPC before they can compete internationally.

The issue of classification continues to generate controversy in the lead up to the Paralympics, which begin on Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro.

Eriksson, now head Paralympics coach for Athletics Canada, and one of the world’s most decorated Paralympic coaches, said: “The IPC is constantly looking at how we can improve classification, but I think classification should be done by an independent organisation similar to Wada.

“We should have to have full-time professionals doing this. Classification should be independent of the IPC and the sport to take the pressure off the IPC. This would, however, be associated with a huge amount of cost.”

The classification process has come under the microscope following claims by athletes and coaches that it can be unfair. They say methods used by some competitors to fool the classifiers include claiming to be unable to use certain body parts and muscles, pretending to be less stable and coordinated, and deliberately exhausting themselves prior to assessment so that they temporarily appear less physically capable.

Paralympic sport works by categorising competitors into different classes according to the level of their disabilities in an attempt to create a level playing field.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, insiders have told the Guardian that although most athletes are correctly classified, some are not.

One former athlete admitted: “My coach did train me pretty hard in the hours leading up to my classification to make my muscle fatigued and on the point of failure.”

She said that as a result of her appearing weak, the classifiers had suggested she might qualify for a more disabled class, but she resisted. “Later in my career I wondered what would’ve happened, but in the end I am thankful in my pride and I love that I have the strength to be as abled bodied as possible, not worse.”

She said her eyes had been opened to the motivations of some coaches. “What you don’t know as a young, impressionable athlete is that coaches and management are in positions of power. T hey know the ins and outs of classification and they get paid and are often under contract and are trying to win gold medals so that their job is safe or that they could possibly get a better job.”

Talking about the situation internationally, one current UK Paralympic coach claimed: “To be honest, the coaches don’t try and make it easy for the classifiers. They tell their athletes to wobble more, that kind of thing.”

A former UKA official said: “I have actually witnessed coaches telling athletes to do certain things to guarantee they will be classified in a certain way. I have seen coaches helping them to cheat. There are definitely coaches who do what is explicitly forbidden to cheat or misrepresent the abilities of their athletes.”

Another former UKA official said: “Some coaches routinely tell their athletes to do things like claim they can’t move their toes or other parts of their bodies.”

An IPC spokesman said: “Athletes feigning impairment during classification is deemed as an extremely serious offence by the IPC and can lead to an athlete serving a suspension.

“It should also be stressed that every single race in Paralympic sport is watched by a chief classifier and one of their roles is to observe competition and check athletes are in the correct class. If they believe an athlete is in the wrong class then the chief classifier can launch a protest under exceptional circumstances and the athlete in question would have to undergo reclassification.

“So even if an athlete feigned impairment during classification it would be picked up by the chief classifier during competition.”

The Paralympics logo on Copacabana beach in Rio, where the Paralympic Games open on Wednesday. Photograph: Buda Mendes/Getty Images

Eriksson said that he believed handing over classification to an independent body would improve things. “I think the classification system is an ongoing process to improve. I think the classification organisation should be independent. I think we are inevitably going in that direction.”

He added: “The UK is doing the best job of any country in the world when it comes to getting classification correct. I don’t believe there’s cheating, but everyone can make a mistake. When I was in the UK, it was part of the system to make sure that everybody had the proper information – we had MRI scans and specialised neurological scans to make sure everyone is above board.”

Eriksson said it should be harder for athletes to get confirmed status, and athletes should be observed over a longer period of time before being permanently classified.

The IPC spokesman said: “Classification must be carried out by the sport’s relevant international federation, as they have the sport specific skills and knowledge that are required to classify athletes in that particular sport.

“It also needs to be remembered that international classification is undertaken by independent classification panels. This means that athletes cannot be internationally classified by classifiers from their own respective country.

“Depending on the impairment, many athletes who are classified internationally are placed under review status. This means that within 12 months they undergo a further classification assessment to validate whether they are in the correct class or not.”